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Arms and Armour:Fencing
Fencing is a sport within Fastheld, rather than a military discipline, though its practice can certainly be extended into such. Popular among the nobility, and those who wish to place themselves within noble circles, it involves the use of a weapon in each hand - a fencing sword in the main hand, and a small dagger for parrying in the off hand. Fencing Swords Foil The simplest of the fencing swords, the foil is a weapon designed for thrusting alone. When one fights with the foil for sport, a strike with the non-cutting side of the weapon, or a slap, does not score any points. Also, in most tournaments, fencers will place a cork cap over the ends of their foils to prevent injury from being dealt to a friendly opponent. It isn't often that these are used in battle, and in fact, the weapon, except in the hands of the most skilled fencers in Fastheld, would be a liability in real combat. Instead, these simple fencing swords are quite limited in their use both inside and outside of tournaments, tending to be the blades given to novices and younger lords to practice with. *'In-Game Description:' **A slender Foil, forged from drawn-out steel. Normally around thirty inches in length, the sides of the blade present no harm to any who may be struck by them. Instead, the entire length of the weapon is a long, slender rod of metal, tapered down to a pointed end for piercing. A comfortable grip of treated leather is at the bottom of the weapon, protected by a circular, cup-shaped end cap around five inches in diameter. The pommel of the weapon is of varying design, and often decorated. ---- Epee Very similar in design to the foil, the epee is a stiffer blade, and heavier, allowing for more power in its thrusts. In addition to this, the hilt of the epee is tilted slightly, allowing for a more natural forward-thrust that does not involve tilting the hand too greatly. Not a slashing weapon at all, it will also often be found with a cork cap on its end, and will almost never be found on a battlefield. *'In-Game Description:' **An Epee for fencing, with a stiff, heavy blade with a V-shaped cross section. Not typically useful for slashing, the thirty-inch blade has a fine, pointed tip for piercing an opponent. The hilt of the epee, hidden behind a protective metal cap, is tilted slightly away from the blade, creating a pistol grip. When the fencer thrusts with this blade, the design of the leather-wrapped grip allows them to do so with their wrist at a more natural angle, increasing the efficacy of the attack. A pommel sits on the end, spherical and often decorated with gemstones. ---- Rapier A more powerful, effective sword than either foil or epee, the rapier is the only fencing sword that would not be out of place on a battlefield as well as in a tournament. It is primarily a thrusting blade, as are all fencing swords, but due to its tapering design is also capable of striking down opponents through cuts and slashes, if less effectively. this is the weapon of choice of the most serious fencers, and often make for the most interesting in tournaments, given the fact that they are more likely to cause injury than their brethren. *'In-Game Description:' **A relatively slender, sharply pointed steel Rapier, featuring a narrow three foot blade that tapers to a razor sharp point. Though designed primarily for thrusting attacks, one might notice that the reflective platinum blade of the rapier remains sharply tapering in design, allowing the weapon to maintain great thrusting potential while allowing for stout blows to be rained upon those who would dare stand in its way, hinting at a more combat-oriented design. The weapon features a swept hilt forged of polished golden brass, serving to protect the hand. The inner guard of a single bar originates at a midpoint on the knucklebow, branching into three bars in turn, before terminating at the ends of the hilt arms. Main Gauche Primarily a defensive weapon, the main gauche is the dagger wielded in the fencers off-hand, to be used in fending off attacks against his person while the sword hand tries to strike down the opponent. Use of this dagger is, for many, the most difficult part of learning to switch from normal swordsmanship to fencing, as one expects the blade to be longer to defend with. Many is the would-be fencer who gave up and left the sport behind after they found they preferred to try defending with their foil. *'In-Game Description:' **An intricate steel main gauche consisting of the actual one foot sterling blade of the knife, and the six-inch guard and hilt, with core intention of the blade being that of off-hand use deflecting followed by the launching of an immediate counter-offensive. A smooth loop ring that rests upon the quillions of the blade, etched with decorative file work, is designed to protect the knuckles of the wielder without fail. Such protection is further enhanced by the quillions, forming the guard of the hilt as they curve forward and up away from the plane of the blade, allowing the knife to be held as far forward as possible to act as a target. The biinwood hilt of the weapon remains tightly bound in steel wire, flowing from spherical pommel to guard. Back to Arms and Armour of Chiaroscuro Category:Armor Category:Arms